Within These Halls
by Sidekickwannabe
Summary: She'd done all this before, this first day of school stuff, nearly 12 years ago, but it had been in a place she knew and under less pressure. She was a spy. A spy for the Order..


Spy

Chapter 1

Pt. 1

When the plane landed at London Heathrow Airport in London, England, Nienna Kyle had strange reservations. Her mother had wanted her to come to London by what she called "safer means", by floo or aparating, but Nienna had opted for flying instead. For Nienna, flying in an airplane, while somewhat stressful, was the only way to fly and it gave her an excuse to arrive early to accustom herself to the area. London was much different from the small southern town in America she'd called home for so long.

Before leaving home, her grandfather had sent Nienna a gift; directions to his home and various tips on England and wizard specific areas. It was something useful and Nienna, not very close to her grandfather, had appreciated the action.

Pt 2

Because Nienna's father, Eric Kyle, was not only American but a Muggle as well, Horace Berry had disagreed with his daughter's decision to marry him. But Abigail Berry, like her father, was headstrong and madly in love with her American muggle and married Eric Kyle anyway. For many years afterward, Horace Berry's relationship with his youngest child was strained.

Added to the stress was Eric Kyle's chosen career: that of Naval officer.

Abby Kyle stopped using magic on a regular basis when she and her husband moved to the small southern town outside of Charleston, South Carolina. She knew well the stereotypes attached to witches and magic that was rampant among the Bible Belt of the South, and sought to protect herself and her family from fanatics who would never understand the true nature of her lifestyle. By the time Nienna was born, Abby and Eric had already had a son, Daniel, born without any magical inclinations and Abby had all but given up hope that Nienna would become a witch.

From the first day she was born, however, Abby Kyle knew Nienna was blessed and began tutoring her in magic as soon as she was able. Nienna loved being a witch and all it entailed. When Nienna was 12, she went to a private wizarding school and at age 18, graduated in the top 10 of her class.

It was at college, a college that dealt with both magical and non-magical studies, that Nienna first heard stirrings of what was going on in the UK. She knew well of Harry Potter and of Voldemort and his defeats. Through various underground newspapers, she'd heard of the Ministry's attempts to cover up Voldemort's return and vilify Harry Potter. Though the North American Council of Magic usually echoed the sentiments expressed by the Ministry of Magic, Nienna had known what was really going on. The Oracle, the American equivalent to the Prophet, praised the Ministry of Magic and began highlighting various people involved with the cover-up. They began doing stories and op-ed pieces on Delores Umbridge and what they called her "revolutionary teaching method", which sounded to Nienna as less of a teaching method and more of an avoidance of reality, the consequence of which would be detrimental to students in the future. Although it bothered Nienna to see how quickly downhill things were heading in the European wizarding community, she knew there was very little she could do.

Until, that is, she got the owl from her grandfather requesting her immediate presence in London. There'd been no details, saves his address, in the letter but Nienna, eager to try something new, had been happy to go.

Pt 3

Nienna and Horace Berry liked each other immediately. He was a quirky old man, skinny and short, with fantastically bright blue eyes and thin white hair. He could only use his left hand and arm, his right arm irreparably damaged in the battle against Grindewald, and he collected old photographs - muggle and magical - so the walls of his London flat were covered in them. He was moderately wealthy but refused to hire a housekeeper, relying on a maid service to come twice a month, making his flat cozy in a haphazardly messy kind of way.

Pt 4

Horace Berry had known Arthur Weasley for most of Arthur's adult life. Arthur was the same age as Abigail and they'd dated while at Hogwarts, even becoming engaged in their 6th year. Even though the wedding was called off six months into the engagement, Abby and Arthur had remained friends. Throughout the years, even after Abby married and immigrated to America, Arthur and Horace Berry had continued their friendship and communicated often.

So when Arthur revealed to Horace his involvement in the Order of the Phoenix, Horace was none too surprised. When he told Horace of the Order's need for more trustworthy people to work within the Order, Horace could think of no one but Nienna. He found himself scratching out a letter and sending it post-haste. A week later, when Nienna replied, he was thrilled and quickly sent word to Arthur.

Pt 5

Nienna stepped off the boat and sighed, stretching and shifting her bag on her shoulder, and ignored the sea of students flowing into Hogwarts around her. She looked at Hogwarts towering in front of her with a mixture of nervousness and interest. She'd studied about Hogwarts for many weeks before coming and details of the history and staff and layout had been drilled into her head so much that she figured she could recite facts about it in her sleep. In many ways, coming to Hogwarts was like meeting someone you knew well but had never actually met. She knew so much about it, but had no idea what to expect from it.

She'd done all this before, this first day of school stuff, nearly 12 years ago, but it had been in a place she knew and under less pressure. She was a spy. A spy for the Order, Nienna had been told when she was summoned to Number 12 Grimmauld Place that rainy summer afternoon. To make sure that Harry Potter and the others were okay. To have one more link in the protective chain of allies in place. To fight.. when, not if, Hogwarts was attacked.

"First years and new students this way!"

Nienna followed the voice and the other students into the Great Hall, where the rest of Hogwarts' inhabitants awaited them. One by one, the first years were sorted into their respected Houses and Nienna was not surprised when the Sorting Hat placed her in Gryffindor, having known ahead of time which House she would belong to. She smiled at the cheers, trying to look surprised as well as not totally embarrassed by the attention, however temporary, and quickly joined her new classmates, settling in beside the Weasley twins and turning her attention to Dumbledore.

Pt 6

Although the teachers had been notified of Nienna's presence as a "transfer student", only three members of the staff knew the truth: Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape. Dumbledore had gotten to know Nienna well during her brief stay in England. Horace Berry had been a good guide and his choice in Nienna had, in Dumbledore's opinion, been more than satisfactory. Nienna was a good student and enjoyed finding things that she knew would aid the Order greatly. She took direction well and completed tasks with a dogged determination. For the most part, no task was too menial and Nienna knew well her role, doing what was asked with little or no complaint.

Dumbledore had few concerns with sending Nienna to Hogwarts. At first there'd been talks of sending Tonks or someone else under a disguise charm, someone more skilled with blending in and spying, but Dumbledore knew Filch would see though any charms. Because of her youthful looks, Nienna would finally be able to put something she'd always hated to good use and would fit in flawlessly.

Snape, on the other hand, was quite unhappy with this decision. With Dumbledore, himself and McGonagall at Hogwarts, there were plenty of people from the Order to make sure things were secure, and others only minutes away should trouble arise. Bringing another person _as a transfer student _was too risky in it's obviously suspicious nature. Not only that, but Nienna was not a good fighter. In the brief training sessions with Tonks, Moody and Lupin Snape had been witness to, Nienna had done poorly. She could only focus on one or two things at a time and was easily overwhelmed, unable to learn when to stop thinking and let instinct take over. Snape guessed if she could focus better, Nienna would make an excellent healer and little use in battle.

Snape also disliked her as a person. When they'd met, there'd been no rumours beforehand to instil in Nienna the awed respect he'd come to expect from younger people, and she had treated him as an equal, referring to him as Professor only as a term of endearment. She also fell madly in love with Sirius Black. (Snape suspected a small crush on Lupin as well.) It didn't surprise him any; as students the Marauders - minus Pettigrew - had drawn sighs of unrequited love and lust from many female students. Black, though fond of Nienna, had been too involved with his own issues to notice her much. To Snape, any woman foolish enough to fall in love with Sirius Black deserved heartbreak. When Black fell through the veil, Nienna had mourned quietly, instead of the near hysterical dramatics that'd come from others within the Order, and for a brief second, Snape almost felt bad for her.

To be continued..

AN: I wrote this a long time just for kicks. Then I realized how much I like what I've got. Nienna is my own character - like you didn't guess - and I like how well rounded she seems. She ain't perfect, but she isn't a total ditz or Hermione-wannabe. So for my first attempt at a foray into the Harry Potter-verse, I hope it's good. Also, I have to sing the praises of The Harry Potter Lexicon : http/ because without it, I would be hopelessly lost in the details.. Ciao!


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